On Monday, September 8, 2025, a significant protest unfolded in Kathmandu, driven by the Nepali government’s recent ban on 26 major social media platforms enacted on Thursday, September 4, 2025.

During the peak of these protests, participants turned to Bitchat, an innovative application developed by Twitter/X and Block founder Jack Dorsey, along with open-source developer Calle.

This application, designed as a censorship-resistant messaging platform that utilizes Bluetooth mesh technology and the Nostr protocol, operates without requiring an internet connection. It witnessed nearly 49,000 downloads in Nepal on September 8, according to data released by Calle on X.

Last week, we observed a sudden spike in bitchat downloads from Indonesia during nationwide protests.

Today we’re seeing an even bigger spike from Nepal during youth protests over government corruption and a social media ban.

Freedom tech is for the people. Please share. pic.twitter.com/IqhRa8eCvw

— calle (@callebtc) September 10, 2025

Bitchat facilitated permissionless communication among protestors, contributing to significant political shifts, including the ousting of the country’s prime minister and the dramatic destruction of the parliament building.

The Lesson for Nepali Youth

The situation underscores the critical importance of applications like Bitchat, not only during government-imposed communication blackouts and protests but also in safeguarding the fundamental rights that support free and open societies.

In an increasingly digital world, it is essential to uphold the freedoms associated with both communication and digital transactions.

As reported by Forbes, Bitchat’s capabilities are expected to expand to include Bitcoin-based Ecash transactions in the near future, a development welcomed by Calle, the application’s co-developer.

By adopting tools such as Bitchat, Bitcoin, Ecash, and Nostr—key components of freedom technology—the youth of Nepal can fortify themselves against the potential abuses of power they recently confronted.

For instance, Nostr and its associated social media clients cannot be easily banned or disabled, meaning that government actions that led to the protests could have been preemptively thwarted.

Freedom technology is not merely a means to regain lost liberties; it is a crucial tool for maintaining them as well.

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